This is an astounding performer and I just cant fault it. The 12-24 shares duty with a 24-105 L, 28-70L as my 3 primary lenses, but it definately does its fair share of the work.

I wish the wide end worked as well as the Sigma 12-24 on my 5D, It Vignettes to 18mm and 19-24 isnt exactly a wide range :D
However my budget 19-35 Tokina does work well on the 5D

I took this lens to the SW USA with a load of shots from Vegas, Death Valley and Yosemite and its performance in those 10 days alone justifed the cost.

Nov 24, 2007

Italo CampiliiOfflineImage Upload: On

Registered: Jul 23, 2007Location: United StatesPosts: 2459

Review Date: Nov 10, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $450.00
| Rating: 5

Pros:

Lightweight, hood, LOVE the 72mm UV filter aspect look

Cons:

Hunts in low light conditions (church, for example), hate the body color, not a Canon lens.

Not much of a wideangle lover after using this lens. It surely looks great on a camera with the nice hood included, and no doubt some wideangle pictures I took came out great despite of my comments, but I simply could not get used to the F4 aperture.

I shoot in low-lit conditions where no flash can be used, and it was very difficult to have this lens take clear pictures. On daylight conditions, it is a great lens.

Recommended for traveling, took this one to venice and it made AMAZING pictures! But like I said, I prefer portraits and 17mm+ zoom lenses, so this one wasn't made for me. Perhaps I'll try the 16-35L on a full frame one day

Nov 10, 2007

Alex ConleyOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 7, 2007Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Nov 7, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Very sharp - Fast focus - Low distortion

Cons:

Non so far

I picked this lens up for shooting automobiles. Nothing seems to capture a car like a crisp wide angle lens.

While my faster Nikkor 50mm stays on my camera more for general shooting, i know that when i switch to this lens i won't lose image quality even compared to a very sharp prime lens.

Took the plunge on this lens after considering the Canon 10-22, primarily for the value for money: you get the lens hood and excellent image and build quality for a fraction of the price of the Canon. I don't regret it!

I've had so much fun with the lens...never imagined how wide it could get on my 30D. The sharpness is excellent, as well as the colour saturation. Highly recommended!

Nov 3, 2007

kin.vhwOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 28, 2006Location: MexicoPosts: 124

Review Date: Oct 23, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

sharp, built like a tank, hood included, superb focal range

Cons:

price in europe, 77mm filter.

this lens is absolutely fantastic. It does prone to flare wide open but cleans up nicely by 5.6. Focus speed is quite fast, almost USM like (at least in the low end) and it's pretty silent.

Great focal range for APS-C, built like a Hummer but refined as a Porsche, sharpness and colors are superb, distortions very well controlled, quick AF, comes with hood and 3-year warranty.

Cons:

Some CA wide open

I've used many lenses over the years, but this is one of the best. Not much else to say. Great lens.

Sep 15, 2007

Frank EleveldOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 4, 2007Location: NetherlandsPosts: 0

Review Date: Sep 4, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharp, pro-grade build quality, constant aperture, price

Cons:

Prone to flare, CA

At around half the price of the Nikkor 12-24 f/4, the Tokina AT-X 124 seems a very attractive lens. Its pro-grade build inspires confidence and this lens is a joy to handle, although Tokina's clutch mechanism to switch between manual and autofocus isn't everyone's cup of tea.

The AT-X Pro 124 (well, my copy at least) renders sharp, contrasty images. Vignetting is not a problem even at its widest settings unless a normal-sized filter is used. With a B+W MRC polarizer it will vignette below 14 mm, so you'd need to use slimline filters to overcome this problem.

The one thing this lens has problems with is having bright light sources in the image; it's quite prone to flare and ghosting. Supposedly this is a weakness of Tokina lenses in general, and it definitely requires care and attention when composing your image.

Other than that, I highly recommend this lens; it's excellent value and a more than capable performer.

Sep 4, 2007

daliangrOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 16, 2006Location: GreecePosts: 0

Review Date: Aug 29, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

very sharp,very good color,low distortion,build guality,price

Cons:

Aug 29, 2007

btrialsOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Aug 23, 2007Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Aug 23, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $499.95
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp! Solid build, very smooth motor, quiet

Cons:

Hunts sometimes for focus, lens cap comes off easily

After reading through FM reviews I was convinced this is the lens I wanted. The extra 2mm you get with the Canon may be good for someone doing serious wide angle shoot but the 12-24 is a great range.

My first impression of the lens itself was amazing. It feels & weighs solid but the design looks very professional. The pictures of the lens doesn't justify how beautiful this thing is. As for the lens cap, they're not exactly easy to put back on. It almost feels like there's only a thread or two that the cap latches on to.

Although the lens sometimes hunt for focus, with good lighting it's fast. The motor just whizzes quietly inside and manual focus ring is butter smooth. To go from auto/manual, you pull or push the ring near the edge. The lens hood goes on well & stays put.

As for the images they are SHARP! I'm no professional so I cannot give any detailed reviews but the 100% crop and the saturation is wonderful. Highly recommnded lens!

it doesn't say "canon" on it, or have a red ring. it's over 1/3 of the cost of a 16-35 2.8L II. Okay! no USM, and c'mon Tokina, can a brother get a weather seal?

This is the ONLY superwide zoom I have tested/owned on a canon body that has been worth keeping. It's sharp to the edges at 5.6 and beyond, with just a hint of vignieting at 4.5. At 5.6 you can photograph large groups without a worry. the lens will mount on a mark III, cover the full frame at 15mm, and NOT distort like a freak, or pick up flare like a 16-35 we all know. I even found it kinda fun to use on a 5D,with the shade, WITH the vignetting!
I owned the 17-35 2.8L. Not good enough! I owned the 17-40 4L. Even worse! Don't even get me started about either 16-35 2.8, or the Tamron 11-18! When I get PAID to get the shot, I can depend on this fatboy!

Very solid lens. Feels and performs like my Canon 17-40L. I bought it used here on FM and noticed it was a bit soft at the wide apertures compared to the 17-40. Sent it to Tokina for a tune-up expecting to pay a standard fee because I had no warranty info. Either the problem was very minor, or they recognized it had a manufacturing defect because they returned it quickly at no charge. It is now at least as sharp as the 17-40, and my 17-40 is sharp even at f4 (on a 1.6x crop camera). So I rate the service as excellent.

The lens produces very nice images at all focal lengths. The optics perform very well for a lens in this price range. Mechanically it is very smooth and inspires confidence in its durability. Internal focusing is a plus. I haven't had much trouble with CA as others have mentioned. I do use PTLens with most lenses to correct minor distortions, so any CA that appears would be easy to correct. The clutch mechanism for changing from manual focus to auto focus is different from the usual switch on most lenses but it works fine.

This is a great lens that I cannot imagine being without as long as I own a crop sensor camera.

Jul 19, 2007

Jman13OnlineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: May 1, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 11147

Review Date: Jul 12, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $430.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharp, excellent color and contrast, minimal distortion, 24mm on the long end (which has been important for me.) Absolutely L-class build quality. Fast autofocus, focus clutch mechanism is nice, with a very well damped focus ring.

Cons:

Can exhibit noticable CA at high contrast edges. Easily fixable with PT Lens, though, so it's not a big deal.

Truly an outstanding ultra-wide for crop sensors. Image quality is already quite high at f/4, and images become very very sharp by f/5.6. I think I'm happier with the 12-24mm range than I would be with the 10-20 range of the similarly priced Sigma. There are many times I shoot with this lens at 24mm (though more of my shots tend to be between 12-16mm). However, there are very, very few occasions where I'm at 12mm and wish I could go wider. 12mm is plenty wide for 99% of my wide-angle needs. The constant f/4 aperture is a very nice perk as well.

The build is easily as good as Canon's L-series. Absolutely no wobble anywhere in the lens, and the finish is tough, durable, and extremely sturdy. Zoom and focus rings are very well damped and smooth. Focus clutch mechanism works very well, and is the next best thing to full-time manual (which isn't really needed on an UWA). Focus is accurate and fairly fast, though audible.

Purple fringing can be apparent at high-contrast edges at 12mm, though I haven't had a situation yet where I couldn't completely correct it with PTLens in about 30 seconds. I say 'can be' because it isn't in every shot...only certain situations, and even when it does crop up, most of the time it's not offensive...when it is, I just open PTLens and it's gone.

Overall: Outstanding build quality on par with Canon's best L lenses, great range, sharp, very nice color and contrast, with a constant aperture. It's probably my favorite lens of the 9 I own.

Jul 12, 2007

David BaldwinOfflineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: Jun 28, 2007Location: United KingdomPosts: 2875

Review Date: Jun 28, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Very sharp. Superb construction quality. Professional quality at an amateur price

Cons:

Small amount of CA

I needed a wide zoom for my Canon 400D. I bought this lens based on favourable reviews and Tokina's reputation for quality glass. I was not disappointed.

My first impression of this lens was how well it was built. It reminds me strongly of the very best Nikkors. This lens is built to last. Very impressive at any price, but especially surprising at this modest price point.

The optical performance is wonderful in my opinion. At f5.6 the sharpness is exceptional. I photograph stars which easily show up poor optics and the Tokina produces really detailed and satisfying images. There is some minor CA, but nothing that cannot be easily taken out in Photoshop Camera Raw. If you want an idea of the quality, and don't mind downloading a large image, please see a sample of this lens' output here:

This lens has it all, optical quality, solid construction, and a cheap price relative to makers' lenses. If you need a wide zoom for your crop camera go out and buy one. I have no connection with Tokina except as a satisfied customer.